Frequently-Asked Questions, with Answers

» When did UFOs first appear in modern times?  Strange objects in the skies have been reported since Biblical times, but the current era of UFO experience is considered by historians to have begun with a group of sightings on June 24, 1947.  The most famous is by Kenneth Arnold.

» Is there such a thing as a ufologist?  Data collection is a major activity of ufologists: investigation and documentation of sighting reports.  Sightings reported to the U.S. Air Force between 1947 and 1968 were frequently investigated by FBI agents or, occasionally, by professional scientists under Government contract.  Much investigation is done privately, often very competently, by amateurs, who may publish their better cases.  Certification as a Field Investigator is offered by MUFON to those who successfully pass an exam, with 100 introductory-level questions on astronomy, chemistry, ethics, hypnosis, interview technique, meteorology, natural and anomalous phenomena, photography, physical evidence and measurements, physics, physiology, polygraphs, public relations, psychology, radar, radiation, report writing and documentation, witness therapy, and witness reliability.  Ufologists tend to specialization, according to their professional background and interests.  See notable examples under distinguished investigators.

» How did you, the host of this Website, become interested in UFOs?  With my inclination toward physics and engineering, the reports made in 1947 while I was in high school were fascinating.  First from pilot Kenneth Arnold in June, and then from Roswell in July.  Evidently the UFO overcame gravity and inertia!  In those weeks, I rode my bicycle to the newspaper stand for each successive edition.

» What does the public think of UFOs?  The Gallup Organization irregularly does telephone surveys in the U.S., on the UFO phenomenon, often as part of a broader study.  Results vary over time, from one poll to the next.  Here is a summary of the UFO section in a Gallup survey of adult (18 years of age and older) opinion on paranormal phenomena in general, for CNN Television, taken September 3 - 5, 1996.  The percentage error reported is at 95% confidence limit.  Further reading: Stephanie Kelley-Romano, "A Report on the Demographics and Beliefs of Alien Abduction Experiencers", CUFOS Journal of UFO Studies, 2006, New Series 9 pgs. 1-20.

» What are some of the more interesting UFO sighting reports?

» Who are the Men in Black?  UFO experients frequently report a subsequent visit from one or several official looking men, dressed in dark business clothes, who may offer credentials.  They warn the witness not to talk about the sighting and add threats of dire consequences otherwise.  They may confiscate evidence, such as photographs, from the witness.  These visitors are often reported to have uncanny knowledge of detail, even when there has been no publicity, and to have odd characteristics and mannerisms.  They are said to drive black Cadillacs or limousines.  The witness may experience the Oz factor during the visit.  Researchers distinguish Men in Black, where the visitors are quite likely genuine government agents, from MIB -- mysterious visitors who seem non-human, surrealistic, and perhaps from another dimension of reality.  See multiple citations in The UFO Encyclopedia, some including an eyewitness account.  See also "Folklore of the 'Men in Black': challenge to the prevailing paradigm" (MUFON UFO Journal, March 1990, 263 pgs. 3-12, 26), by Peter M. Rojcewicz, who personally experienced the MIB phenomenon and Oz factor while working in a library on his Ph.D. thesis.

» In the Roswell incident, what did the U.S. Government find and what has it hidden?  The U.S. Air Force -- then the Army Air Corp -- attributes the 1947 Roswell incident to a weather balloon: Don Schmitt and Kevin D. Randle, "Fort Worth press conference: J. Bond Johnson connection"; November/December 1990 International UFO Reporter 15, 6, pg. 15 [Ce].  However, dozens of witnesses to the event have been found and interviewed, saying "that was no weather balloon" and some of these saw the alien bodies, either on the ground at the site or during subsequent autopsy; e.g., VHS tape hosted by Paul Davids, executive producer of Showtime TV movie Roswell: "The UFO Cover-Up Continues...", 1994 [CV].  See Top Secret/Majic for results of Stanton T. Friedman's research on U.S. Government policy behind the Air Force position.  Also, visit http://www.majesticdocuments.com.  Majic Eyes Only lists 75 reported incidents of recovering alien artifacts or UFO crash remains.

» What is Area 51/Groom Lake/S4?  The U.S. Government operates a top secret, high security, black budget facility in southern Nevada for development and testing of advanced aircraft.  It is rumored to house recovered UFOs, and even Grey aliens.  See Glenn Campbell's Baedeker, Area 51 Viewer's Guide, for maps, cautions, videos, anecdotes, magazine articles, and related books.

» What information is available in declassified government studies of UFOs?  In the United States, the official position since termination of Project Blue Book on 17 December 1969 is that there was no indication from UFO reports to date of any threat to national security and, therefore, UFO investigations were discontinued; accumulated records were transferred permanently to the National Archives and are available for public inspection.  See also http://www.bluebookarchive.org.  But various researchers, hearing rumors of continuing government interest in UFOs, have since used FOIA to search for and force declassification of secret information.  See Clear Intent or its reprint, The UFO Cover-Up for fascinating details of involvement since 1969 at FBI, CIA, State Department, and other agencies; also UFO FBI Connection, which notes on pg. 279 that abduction of a human being is a federal offense and documents the FBI response in 1967 to an actual abduction report.  Other books with titles claiming revelation of secret information are generally based on direct input from witnesses and unofficial government contacts.  Disclosure Project identifies several hundred of these military and civilian individuals who have volunteered to testify, before the U.S. Congress, about first-hand UFO knowledge obtained while working for their government.  See also Project Condign.

» Where do UFOs come from?  The overwhelming anecdotal evidence -- many reports of sudden appearance / disappearance or materialization / dematerialization -- implies that UFOs are from another time, or from another dimension of reality; i.e., their behavior and operation are interdimensional.

» What are aliens?

» What technology do aliens have?  Most observations of alien technology occur in close encounters with Greys; we can only speculate on the development level of alien science in general.  Greys employ:

» How do you think our first encounter with aliens is going to affect the world?  It is estimated that by 1992, one in fifty people had already been abducted and subjected to clinical examination and genetic experimentation / engineering by grey aliens: Roper Report.  Greys may have an additional motive: abductees are frequently told they have a future rôle to play, of which they will be advised "at the proper time".  Optimistic students of the UFO phenomenon see more than the cold, clinical description of abductions: they see directed evolution of humanity.

» Have you ever had an encounter with an extraterrestrial?  None of our associates has, but we have talked to people who claim an encounter with an alien species, and we have in our database many other reports of encounters.  Note that the term "extraterrestrial" implies an origin elsewhere than earth, which is an assumption.  Then see the question: "Where do UFO come from?"

» Have there ever been close encounters past the second kind?  All types are reported, including CE4.

» Do you think abductions are real or a figment of imagination?  There are now, in 2008, hundreds of first-hand, detailed accounts, obtained by multiple, credentialed investigators from normal people in good mental health; abductions must be real events.  See The Abduction Experience and The Holocaust Vis-à-Vis UFO.  Also, The Vatican on UFO.

» What is the strangest abduction story you have ever heard?  As described in Witnessed: The True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge UFO Abductions, Linda Cortile (pseudonym), a 40-something housewife, is floated out the front window of her 12th story New York City apartment at 3:00 AM by three Greys in view of multiple witnesses, while husband and two children remain asleep in their beds, and is examined aboard the hovering UFO before it disappears into the nearby East River!

» What is your main fear of aliens?  Even those people who are familiar with literature on the UFO phenomenon would find the typical abduction a traumatic experience: cultural shock of contact with strange beings, loss of personal control, and real physical and mental pain from the clinical procedures performed on them.  Certainly this would be much more frightening to anyone else.  How to Defend Yourself against Alien Abduction offers nine techniques to resist abducting aliens.

» Is professional help available for abductees?  If you seek help for post-traumatic stress disorder experienced from abduction, we recommend you work with a professional who is aware of the UFO phenomenon and is open-minded about it.  Some service providers are skeptical and may treat you for a delusional psychosis.  Recognizing this problem, the Bigelow Holding Corp. financed and distributed the Roper Report to 100,000 mental health professionals.  Notable UFO organizations are aware of local support groups, usually led by an interested clinician who encourages the members to interact and share their abduction experiences.  The work of the late psychotherapist Constance Clear with her Friday Night Group is typical: Reaching for Reality.  Mary Rodwell's work, Awakening has questions and answers to guide your personal search.  See also distinguished investigators.  Abductees may consider participating in AMP, the Ambient Monitoring Project.